


That Weird Guy With the Socks

by PrinceSkylar



Series: You're Really Lovely (Underneath It All) [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Awkward Crush, Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Bad Flirting, Behind the scenes Naruto being in everyones business, Blushing, Crushes, Gaara is too anxious for any of this, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Modern AU, Pining, Rare Pair, Secret Crush, gaasasu, naruto rare pair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 17:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16330334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSkylar/pseuds/PrinceSkylar
Summary: Gaara's used to seeing all kinds of people come through the store he works in but...that guy? That guy who keeps buying socks twice a week? Sasuke? Yeah, that guy is....kinda weird.





	That Weird Guy With the Socks

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this because I'm avoiding finishing my Kiba-centric series, and because lately I've been in the mood for Gaara and Sasuke to love each other. This is just a casual series, no real plot aside from two awkward guys learning to love each other.

Gaara was a thousand percent sure that he hated his job.

 

The customers were the worst part if he were to be honest. His coworkers? He adored them, even worked with a few friends from high school. It was _always_ the customers that made his life feel like Hell. So many of them fought tooth and nail over whether or not they could use their expired coupons, or about how _entitled_ they felt they were to discounts Gaara himself was not allowed to give out. Oh, and the old ladies who insisted he didn't know how to count. _That_ drove him insane.

 

Then there was _that guy_ in particular. One particular customer that just rubbed Gaara the wrong way. He wasn't a stranger, not entirely. He was a friend of his coworker, Naruto, and came in quite often even before Gaara had been hired seven months ago. Sasuke...yeah, that was his name. At least, Gaara was pretty sure it was his name. Gaara wasn’t actually that good with names.

 

Sasuke came into the store twice a week. Mondays and Thursdays, both days at four twenty-five in the afternoon regardless of whether or not Naruto was also working that day. Gaara assumed he came in after his classes ended at the campus down the street; Naruto had mentioned Sasuke going there. He came in usually to see Naruto, always spending a few minutes talking before he disappeared into the store. Then, without fail, he _always_ got in Gaara's line. Even if there were ten people ahead of him, he got into Gaara's line. It confused Gaara to no end because, well, he wasn't their _fastest_ cashier. Too many transactions gone wrong has installed in him a sense of caution and the common sense needed to take his time.  The fastest was Lee, who had an inhuman ability to be good at everything and anything. So, Gaara wasn't entirely sure why Sasuke always came through his line instead. Maybe he liked standing in line?

 

Just like today. Right now. Gaara could see Sasuke step into his line once again. Gaara took a deep breath, returning his attention to his current customer, an elderly lady that bought nearly all the cans of cat food their store carried. “Your total is Thirty-nine Sixty-four.” he told her, clearing his throat. Speaking _loudly_ had been a task when he had first been hired. Oh, the humiliating days of having to repeat himself several times in a row…

 

The old woman began to dig through her coin purse, a sure sign that she just might pay for most of this purchase with change, like the demon spawn elderly customers truly were. Gaara instantly wanted to devour his entire register and go home. But eating your own cash register two and a half hours into your shift was, as far as Gaara knew, frowned upon. Unfortunately. So he was forced to be patient.

 

His eyes darted to the side once more, eyeing Sasuke in line. His black hair was a bit messy from the strong winds outside and he wore a bright red scarf around his neck. He seemed to be avoiding Gaara's gaze which..wasn't entirely new. They always only managed a few words to each other whenever they crossed paths like this. What did someone even say to their coworkers weird friend who came in constantly and acted so...weird? Gaara's own social experiences were extremely short and fleeting to begin with. He was only just now coming out of his shell at the ripe age of twenty two. He had No frame of reference for this and Naruto’s assurances of “Just be yourself when he comes around!” didn’t help at all.

 

The Old woman, bless her heart, found cash hidden in the depths of her coin purse. Gaara instantly felt a wave of anxiety disappear as he took the money and finished ringing her up. Being a cashier was... _interesting_ when it wasn't stress inducing. Finding out his own limits with people and their never ending surprises...well, that was just a wild ride. He was actually sort of thankful that his short fuse from middle school had improved drastically. His anxiety was still awful but in this day and age, who _didn't_ have nearly crippling anxiety?

 

It took another four customers until it was finally Sasuke's turn. He shuffled over and Gaara reached for Sasuke's item, knowing exactly what he was buying before he even looked.

 

Sasuke _always_ bought the same thing. One pack of twelve pairs of socks. Black socks, to be exact. For nearly seven months, twice a week, Sasuke bought a pack of socks. This little detail made Gaara lose his mind. Who on earth needed that many socks? Why did he need them so frequently? What was he doing with all the socks he bought? Was he some sort of sock eating creep?

 

….No, now that was just silly to think about. Gaara shook that thought away as he scanned the socks, watching the young man across from him carefully, noting the way Sasuke still avoided his gaze as Gaara did his thing. He was normally fairly quiet, anyways. Gaara looked back at the pack of socks in his hand. Black, ankle cut socks. Simple. Easy to wear. Good material too; Gaara had a couple pairs himself.

 

But it was driving him crazy. He had rung Sasuke up for a pack of socks a handful of days ago. It didn't make any sense. What sort of person needs so many _fucking socks?_

 

“You buy a lot of socks.” The words tumbled past his lips before he could stop himself and suddenly the redhead wanted to slam his face into the nearest wall.

 

Sasuke's eyes flickered up to meet his and they shared a moment of silence in which Sasuke's lips pressed together firmly. Oh god, was _Gaara_ suddenly the weird one for pointing out how weird _Sasuke_ was? Was there some sort of social rule about not talking about these things? Like when he learned about the unspoken rule about not telling girls when their makeup doesn't look good?

 

“I like those socks.” Sasuke finally replied, voice a bit rushed, almost as if he had been floundering for something to say.

 

Gaara stared at him.

 

Sasuke stared right back, lips pressed together firmly again.

 

“...They're alright.” Gaara murmured finally, looking back at hus cash registers screen and internally kicking himself. He could have just not said anything like he usually did. Now they _both_ sounded weird. “I have a few pairs. Uh...I don't like ankle cut socks that much, though.”

 

“Oh.” Sasuke blinked at him. What, did not liking ankle cut socks suddenly make _Gaara_ the freak? “I don't have a preference. I just...the material. I like it.”

 

“Enough to buy two packs a week?”

 

“Yes.” Sasuke replied, and then he hesitated as he fished out his wallet and opened it. “Actually I don't...need that many. Socks, I mean.”

 

Gaara glanced up and held out his hand to take the money Sasuke was handing to him. “Then why do you buy so many?”

 

“To see you.”

 

Gaara dropped the money, his brain shutting down for a brief moment before it kicked into overdrive. His head shot up and he gawked at Sasuke with wide eyes. Sasuke stared right back, a flush to his cheeks but not daring to look away even for a second. How _daring._ Gaara ducked down to grab the money from the floor, wheezing a little as he struggled to catch his breath.

 

That's why Sasuke was in here all the time? To see _Gaara_? No one ever came to see him so often. What the _hell?_

 

Gaara was pretty sure his brain had rebooted about seven times by the time he stood back up. Sasuke arched an elegant eyebrow at him. “You alright?”

 

“Are you?” Gaara shot back, the words coming out a little rushed. “What do you mean you come to see me?” Gaara was thankful there wasn't anyone in line behind Sasuke. It would be a disaster if someone had been watching. It was bad enough that Lee’s register was directly behind Gaara’s, and that he was most likely hearing this too.

 

Sasuke brought a hand up, running his fingers through his hair as he glanced to the side. “You're hot.” He glanced back at Gaara. “And..pretty. Pretty hot.”

 

Dear god, they were _both_ just socially awkward messes. This was a train wreck of a conversation with Gaara's eyes widened in shock and Sasuke's eyes darting everywhere they could go avoid Gaara's gaze. This...this didn't normally _happen_. Gaara hadn't had anyone _into_ him since his second year of high school when he dated his ex, Matsuri. That was when he was fifteen. He was _twenty two_ now. He had long since came to terms with the Fact that he would die alone with just his plants and siblings to mourn for him. Sasuke was throwing all of his plans and expectations into the garbage, which was exactly where Gaara wanted to be too.

 

“I'm...hot.” Gaara echoed slowly, turning to quickly push the money into the cash register and fish out Sasuke's change. His hands were shaking a little but he honestly couldn't tell if it was his normal work time shakes or the sudden flustered embarrassment making them shake. “You come in twice a week...and buy socks you don't need...just because you want to see me...because you're...into me.” The more he considered it, he supposed it was sort of sweet. Maybe even cute.

 

Sasuke sighed. “Yeah...it's weird. I know. Naruto told me it was weird.”

 

Gaara paused to look over at the other, squinting a bit. “Naruto knew?” Of _course_ Naruto knew. That little gossip knew everything about everyone.

 

“Yeah. He...called me out on it like...four months ago.” Sasuke admitted, looking sort of like he wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground.  “He said it was weird and that I should just...talk to you. But you're…”

 

“Scary?” Gaara offered because yes, he got told that quite often. Apparently his anxiety came across as ‘resting bitch face’ but then again, that must have just been a family thing. His siblings were the exact same way.

 

Sasuke's eyes widened. “No, not scary.” He assured with a rather enthusiastic shake of his head. “I mean, intimidating but not because you're scary. You're...really attractive. And Naruto said you're really smart, so...I didn't want to look like an idiot but..here I am...buying socks...for the second time this week...sounding like an idiot..” He sighed and rubbed his face, holding his other hand out for the change Gaara was still holding. “Sorry. Just...give me the change. I'm leaving.”

 

Gaara wanted more information. This was just too insane, too...weird. The small, self centered part of himself that he usually kept well hidden wanted to ask Sasuke why he found him attractive. The slightly more antagonistic part of him wanted to make Sasuke look as awkward as he himself felt. But he was too nice, he supposed, and handed the change over along with the pack of socks.

 

But as Sasuke started to walk away, probably just as embarrassed as Gaara imagined he was, Gaara couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. Confessing was hard enough but confessing about semi-stalking your crush to their face...well, he assumed it was even harder. He didn't know much about Sasuke aside from what Naruto had told him but if there was one thing he was good at, it was listening and learning. Sasuke could, at least, be someone Gaara could see himself being friends with. And Gaara would admit that Sasuke was attractive, so him being into Gaara wasn't that bad. It was just...shocking. It felt so alien to have someone that attractive be into him, especially when they’d only shared a couple of handfuls of words together. But in a way it was sort of...endearing, Sasuke was shy, far too shy to approach Gaara normally. He’d talked to Naruto about being into him...he wasted money on countless pairs of socks just to see him.

 

“Sasuke, wait.” Gaara again found the words tumbling past his lips before he could stop himself. The dark haired young man turned and blinked at him and, after taking a second to place his thoughts, Gaara spoke again. “It isn't weird. I...I mean it is, but it isn't _that_ weird. It's...sort of flattering.” Shit, he had another customer stepping into his line.

 

He glanced at the new customer, offering a strained smile as he began scanning her items as any good cashier would. “Hello, how are you-”

 

“You think it's flattering?”

 

Gaara fumbled with the cereal box in his hands. Christ, Sasuke was standing nearly next to him, almost behind the register counter with him! Did he have no sense of boundaries?

 

Gaara shot him a look, nodding quickly. “Kinda..yeah.” He said and looked back at the woman once again. “Sorry. Did you find everything alright today?”

 

“Oh yes, thank you for asking.” The woman shot him a smile before promptly looking down at her phone, uninterested in him. Right, one of those types.

 

Gaara rolled his eyes a little bit and glanced at where Sasuke still stood. The other was watching him with an expression Gaara couldn't decipher even if he wanted to and Gaara tore his gaze away, focusing on scanning the items in front of him. Jeeze, he felt anxious on a whole new level. An attractive guy staring at him, knowing this guy was attracted to him… His brother was better at these sort of things. Gaara felt entirely out of his element.

 

“Go out with me.”

 

This time Gaara _did_ Drop one of the woman's items, the bag of chips tumbling down to the floor and a hissed “damn” escaping his lips. He immediately shot down to grab it, his hand slamming rather roughly into Sasuke's. Ah...he had gone to pick it up for Gaara, like a gentleman. For a brief moment the two of them stared at each other and Gaara was certain his face was as red as his hair. However, Sasuke looked less anxious than before. It was as if knowing Gaara _didn't mind_ his attraction to him had filled him with a newfound sense of courage. Gaara had to take a deep breath as he stood up straight, bag of chips in hand. “...I'm free tomorrow evening.”

 

Holy shit.

 

Sasuke's lips twitched up into a small smile. Dear god, that was... _kinda hot._ He nodded firmly, taking a step back. “Alright. I'll get your number from Naruto since you're busy and I've distracted you enough already today.”

 

Confidence looked both charming and a little irritating on Sasuke, but Gaara found himself fighting back a small smile, his own face heating up as he quickly went back to scanning and bagging the woman’s items once more. “Sorry about that…”

 

“Oh, no worries, honey.” The woman waved her free hand dismissively and when Gaara glanced at her, she had an amused sort of smile on her lips. “We all get a little flustered around cute boys.”

 

Oh yes, Gaara sort of wanted to eat his own register again. Lee’s loud laughter from behind him didn’t help at all. Lee had a field day with that all day, but it all felt a little worth it when, on his lunch, Gaara opened his phone to a single message from a new number.

 

_It’s Sasuke. Tomorrow night at 6 okay? Dinner and a movie, or is that too cliche?_

 

Gaara couldn’t stop himself from grinning now, face on fire. God, he felt like a high school kid all over again as he typed out his reply.

 

_Cliche is good._

**Author's Note:**

> Well if you made it this far, thanks! I can be found on tumblr, My-tatteredwingsof-freedom. Kudos, maybe?


End file.
